Accommodations

Wild Cat is a 70’ x 22’ power catamaran custom made in 2000 for surf charters in the Mentawai Islands. She was built with an emphasis on speed, stability, safety and comfort. As a result the boat is fast, light and strong with a large canopied deck out front to protect travelers from the intense tropical sun.

The main salon provides panoramic views of the surrounding islands and the entertainment center has a a 70″ TV loaded with hundreds of movies and surf videos, DVD player, surround sound, Nintendo video games, poker set, playing cards and various board games.

Wild Cat has one indoor shower and two outdoor showers. All ten sleeping berths are air-conditioned, the floors are carpeted, and there are views from every berth with plenty of space in the twin hulls.

All catamarans are very stable at speed but also at anchor and Wild Cat is no exception to that rule being one of the most comfortable and affordable charter options in the Mentawai islands. Surfers are transported from the boat to the reef and back in one of two tenders. One is a 12 foot inflatable with a 15 HP engine and the other is a 15 foot inflatable with 70 HP engine. These two tenders offer travelers great flexibility in exploring the various breaks the Mentawai has to offer.

The Surf

From up north to down south the following is a list of better known spots from which to choose (leaving out some semi-secret and un-named spots):

Burgerworld
This is a softer pointbreak – like righthander. Can offer barrels at times, but usually long rippable walls with many cutback sections. When the swell is small this place has waves. As the size comes up it turns into a mush burger – hence the name. An extremely picturesque setting too.

Beng beng
This is a left just up from E Bay. Good for all abilities and works on medium swell.

E-Bay
This is a hollow super picturesque lefthander that barrels off the take-off with a short wall down the line. A great option when a lot of swell is hitting.

Pit Stops
This is the right off the peak at E-Bay Usually a playful right that can offer some cover-ups off the take-off, but mostly a high performance waves with air sections at the end. Ends in a sandy channel.

Bank Vaults
A heavy righthander that barrels and spits. Usually larger than most spots in the area. Watch out for clean-up sets. Can handle a bit more swell than its neighboring wave, Nipussi.

Nipussi
A shorter right that breaks down the point from Bank Vaults. Definitely fun and rippable. Usually has fairly deep water from the takeoff to the inside. Ends in a riptide that sucks all the water back out to sea. Along with Burgerworld this is a good option when there’s not much swell, and usually the most consistent spot in the area.

Hideaways
A very hollow left that can be shallow at times. It comes out of deep water, then unloads on a shallow section of reef before barreling towards the channel. More dangerous at low tides.

No Kanduis
A long barreling left that wraps around a small island. Usually very sectiony, but can line up on the largest of swells. Fast takeoff, pull-in and pump like mad!

Four Bobs
Good with tons of swell. A mellower option as it is a softer wave than some of the other closer breaks. Mainly a right with a short barrel off the takeoff, then backing off into the channel. More shallow on the inside.

Rifles
One of the best waves in the world when on, no exaggeration. A very long righthander that wraps around the other side of the same island as No Kanduis. Insanely hollow once it’s a few feet overhead, but usually more sectiony at smaller sizes.

Icelands
Beautiful setting, lefthander – big deep water wave. A lot of punch …. another consistent lefthander for when the swell is smaller. Good snorkeling and spear fishing when surf is small also.

Telescopes
A perfect wrapping left hander. Long walls wrap around the reef with very few sections on larger days. Mostly breaks in pretty deep water, but on the bigger days it can get heavy outside and shallow on the inside reef.

Scarecrows
Breaks off of an island just south of Telescopes. Good lefts but less predictable and shifty. This wedgy wave works best on a dropping high tide. Good snorkeling inside here also. Bintangs – A short and hollow right across the channel from Lance’s Left. As the wave approaches the reef, the bottom drops out before barreling towards the channel.

Lance’s Left
Long left walls wrap down the point before hitting the last section, which is the main take-off area. Great hollow section after the take-off. A bigger gun helps on the larger days. Watch the inside on low tide if the swell is carrying in there.

Hollow Trees (HT’s, Lance’s Right)
A great righthander that has been all over the surf mags and videos over the last decade. The main takeoff spot is up the point where most of the waves start barrelling and peel flawlessly down the reef. On larger swells it can be very shifty and hard to read. It can shift more to the end bowl where it can break, reform, then bowl again into the channel. The inside is very shallow and is often referred to as the “surgeon’s table” due to the many reef-cuts doled out to traveling surfers.

Bat Caves (Gilligan’s Island)
A righthander that breaks when wind favors only lefts. Sometimes enjoyed more by longboarders – usually funner than it looks from the boat.

Macaronis
One of the most perfect waves in the world. A very hollow wave with many shallow spots. Lefts start from way up the point, then gradually slow down as it approaches the channel. The further up the point you paddle, the faster it barrels when you take-off. After the initial barrel ride, this wave offers one of the most rippable walls for any maneuvers you can think of.

Greenbush
A heavy lefthander – Sick takeoff and then pull in quick. Beautiful setting but if you don’t make the takeoff, pull in fast enough, or straighten off you’re on the reef.

Rags Left
A great lefthander that can hold the biggest swells. It is very hollow and can often dish out some of the heaviest hold-downs in the island chain. Usually a bit more water moving around so a larger board can be useful.

Rags Right
A shorter, hollow right on the southern end of Rags Island. Needs higher tide now – a lot shallower after the quakes. Fast, short barrel …. better be on your game. Drop in, pull in, go fast, don’t be greedy, leave the inside alone and kick out. Be ready for the reef and scrapes – fall flat!!!

Thunders
A swell magnet and “go to” spot when the swell is small. This can be a fun long walled left with multiple tube sections, but when big provides a “Sunset” like drop that sometimes gets a bit fat and shoulders off down the line.

The Hole
A fast hollow left with quick take off and hollow end section. Ends in very shallow water, better for advanced surfers.

Get the picture? If there is a landmass poking up above the surface of the ocean in this part of the world, it probably has a coral reef protecting it and a perfect wave wrapping around one end or the other.

Activities

Eat. Sleep. Surf. But also: read, dive, fish, watch DVDs, listen to music, sort photos, edit videos, drink, play cards, relax, stretch. Wild Cat is a big, stable, air conditioned, well-stocked surf cat with lots of room for R and R, big screen TV, modern sound system – a floating island of comfort and convenience in an archipelago of elements that can be brutal.

Wild Cat is equipped with fishing and diving gear to explore what lies beneath, and when the 12-foot tender isn’t going back and forth to the reef, they use it for diving and fishing expeditions – and also hiking around on land through the jungle and visiting small villages.